8.  In 1938 the applicant married an Austrian national of Ukrainian origin who had entered Sweden that same year. Five children were born of the marriage. The family lived in Fagersta, where the applicant’s husband worked as a sales manager until his death on 11 May 1963. His ashes were buried in a family grave at a cemetery in Fagersta. The grave has room for at least eight other urns. The contract on the burial plot is to expire on 31 December 2019, but will automatically be renewed for twenty-five years when a new burial takes place there. Moreover, the person in possession of the right to the burial plot when the contract is about to expire is entitled to renew it.
9.  In 1980 the applicant moved to Västerås to be closer to her children. The distance between Fagersta and Västerås is 70 kilometres.
10.  On 15 August 1996 the applicant requested the cemetery authorities (Västanfors-Västervåla Kyrkogårdsförvaltning) to allow the transfer of her husband’s urn to her family burial plot in Stockholm, which had been established in 1945 and had room for thirty-two urns. The applicant’s parents were buried there and the applicant intended to be buried there after her death. Stockholm is situated 180 kilometres from Fagersta. The applicant submitted in addition that she had no connection to Fagersta any more, that all her children agreed to the removal and that she was sure her husband would not have objected to the transfer.
11.  By a decision of 16 September 1996, her request was refused by the authorities in deference to the notion of “a peaceful rest” under the Funeral Act (Begravningslagen, 1990:1144).
12.  On appeal, the County Administrative Board in Västmanland (Länsstyrelsen i Västmanlands Län) upheld the refusal.
13.  The applicant appealed to the County Administrative Court in Västmanland (Länsrätten i Västmanlands Län) which, by a decision of 5 September 1997, found against her. It stated as follows:
“Pursuant to Chapter 1, section 6, of the Funeral Act, remains or ashes which have been buried in a cemetery may not be removed from a burial plot in order to be buried in another burial plot. However, permission may be granted if there are special reasons therefor and the place to which the remains or ashes are to be removed has been determined.
According to the explanatory notes to the Act (Prop. 1990/91:10, pp. 35-37), the decision on a request for the removal of remains or ashes shall be restrictive, having regard to the deceased’s right to a peaceful rest. Determination [of such a request] should be guided by the wishes expressed by the deceased whilst alive. As a general rule, it must be assumed that such a wish, if expressed, was taken into account when the burial took place. The paramount condition for allowing a transfer is obviously that it would not contravene the wishes expressed by the deceased when alive. Moreover, some connection between the deceased and the intended destination would usually be required.
In the present case [the applicant’s husband] worked as a sales manager at the Fagersta factory until 1958. He died on 11 May 1963, and the urn containing his ashes was placed in grave no. 208/017, quarter no. 208, in Västerfors. [The applicant’s husband] came from Ukraine and had a Catholic Church tradition. It appears that he did not express any wishes about his burial when he was alive.
The County Administrative Court makes the following assessment:
Making an overall assessment, the County Administrative Court finds that [the applicant’s husband] did not have a closer natural connection to Stockholm than he had to Fagersta. No other reasons have been submitted which could justify the disturbance of the peace of the grave after thirty-four years.”
14.  The applicant’s request for leave to appeal was refused by the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm (Kammarrätten i Stockholm) on 29 October 1997, and by the Supreme Administrative Court (Regeringsrätten) on 22 February 2000.
15.  The applicant died on 21 February 2003. In accordance with her wishes, she was buried in her family burial plot in Stockholm.